MASTERCLASS: CROSS-BORDER ESTATE PLANNING FOR AMERICANS IN PORTUGAL

A 40-minute masterclass on what happens to your estate when two legal systems both have a claim

Moving to Portugal is exciting. Estate planning is not. That combination means most Americans abroad put it off, and it's exactly the wrong moment to do that.

The United States and Portugal each have their own rules for what happens when someone dies. Those rules were not designed to work together. When an estate has assets or family members in both countries, the gap between the two systems falls on your family to navigate: frozen accounts, administrative processes running in parallel across two countries, documents that need authentication before foreign institutions will accept them, and a timeline that can stretch for months.

None of this is inevitable. It is, almost entirely, preventable with planning.

What you'll learn

In 40 minutes, you'll understand:

How the U.S. and Portuguese legal systems each claim authority over the same estate, and what that means for your family in practice
What Portuguese forced heirship (the legítima) actually is, why it overrides a will for Portuguese assets, and why it catches Americans off guard
Why U.S. trusts are frequently misunderstood by Portuguese advisors, and what a Revocable Living Trust actually does (and doesn't do) from a tax perspective
How banks and financial institutions behave after a death, including account freezes and why POD and TOD designations can disappear when you move abroad
The specific planning issues for mixed-nationality couples, families with minor children, and estates that include both U.S. and Portuguese assets
What supporting documents you likely need: coordinated wills, powers of attorney, the Portuguese Testamento Vital, and beneficiary designation reviews
Why liquidity planning is an underappreciated but practical part of any cross-border estate plan

Who this is for

Americans living in Portugal, or planning to move, who have not reviewed their estate planning documents since relocating. Also relevant for anyone who owns Portuguese property, has a non-U.S. spouse, or has minor children and no clear plan for who takes care of them if something happens.

Also useful for estate planning attorneys, financial advisors, and relocation professionals whose clients are navigating life in Portugal.